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PSA

LAS VEGAS INTERNATIONAL PIPE SHOW
This week!
Pete Geek Meet
See agenda at end of post.

TIM LOMPREY AND THE JOY OF COMPANIONING PETES

What with one thing and another these past few weeks have been difficult for me, so that it is with considerable relief that I can sit down this morning and without hours of work on this post in the past few days, simply enjoy Peterson pipes with you, thanks to the good offices of Tim Lomprey CPG.

Tim is fairly self-effacing as Pete Geeks go, preferring to share rather than talk about himself, but as I’ve emailed with him there’s a joy in his companioning of Peterson pipes that shines through, undeniable and infectious, and I was so glad when several months ago he made the decision to share his passion with the rest of us.

All of us–and I say this because you’re reading this–are (for lack of a more elegant word) pretty geeky about Petes, whether we companion a few or collect hundreds. Yet Tim also has what makes for the best Pete Geeks: a good eye for what’s unusual and the master sleuth’s ability to know when he’s found it. That he also has the heart and lack of ego to share what’s been given to him in trust is something for which I’m grateful.  Tim–blessings!

Tim with a Chisel Rustic 02 (see below).

Shannon Airport 406 Sterling.

Will we ever see grain like this 406 Sterling?  Once it was an everyday thing, even on Standard Systems.  It’s hard to pinpoint just when it disappeared from the Peterson output, although I know it was well after the 2002 Great Explorers Collection.  I do wish Peterson, Laudisi, or anybody on the industry side who knows, would simply be brave enough to tell us: “here’s the situation, guys–it’s gone and it’s never coming back.” Or whatever the case might be.  I’m sure its complicated, but what, exactly, are the complications? Will it ever get better? I can’t help but believe that individually hobbyists–Pete Geeks–are buying more Petes per person than ever before. It seems like something could be done.  In the meantime, we’ll continue to rejoice and invest in estates like this one.

1922 First Quality.

Algerian Briar Sandblast.

Not everybody’s cup of coffee, the Algerian Sandblast Pete is certainly one of mine.  Look closely at the undulating waves of grain created by the blast medium hitting what is so obviously the softer Algerian briar often used when this wood was available many decades ago. Word on the street has always been that Algerian briar it was also sweeter in taste than that coming from other regions. I think this is the dublin shape, but Tim can doubtless tell us.

IFS 936 Grade 3 Straight Sided Billiard.

This is one of those “I wish this was still in the catalog” shapes.” It’s actually much smaller when you see it in person than you might suppose. This one looks like it just came out of the box.

IFS De Luxe 220.  

The blonde grain flowing over the dark chocolate stain and the impeccable Golden Spiral lines–Sigh. Food for meditation while smoking your Pete: why did K&P stamp their stems? When and why did they quit?

314 Sandblast.

Irish Free State Army Mount.

One of the orific stems in the “experiment” of the 1920s following Charles Peterson’s death. The company was apparently testing the waters to see if they would sell more pipes.  Obviously they didn’t, as they had eliminated these stems in the ephemera by the mid-1930s.  Makes me wonder for the thousandth time why K&P would ever, ever market Systems with fishtail stems.

02 Chisel Rustic.

This is the pipe seen in Tim’s portrait at top.  I don’t often get a bad case of pipe envy, and when I do I can (to my shame) sometimes be really difficult, as as you can ask at least one of my Pete friends (you know who you are). In any event, this pipe is one of them, and as it’s only the second I’ve seen, it’s time it had a specific name: Chisel Rustic.  This style of rustication seems to have been around for only a very few years. My 02 Donegal Rocky Sterling is the only other I’ve seen, and as it was first documented in the 1945 catalog, I expect this style dates from around then.  I also like the smooth shank stamp space on the side. I don’t have a single Chisel Rustic System, but you can be sure I’ll be on the lookout for one from now on!

1935 IFS Grade 2 (308 / 14).

Éire Blast.

This blast pattern is so peculiar, like the bowl was cut from the vine and began to dry in the sun like grape-to-raisin or something.

I think this is another oversize shape. I also think it’s got one of Fletch Hiner’s extraordinary stems. 

Notice the extraordinary now-lost art of the rustication, very close to the Chisel Rustic and obviously quite tactile. I’m going to talk more about Fletch’s amazing stem work next week, but for now what I want you to see is the flatness of the button end from the bend to the P-Lip and the immaculate shaping of the clenching shelves.

TINTACKER EVENT

Gigi has received enough additional requests for a tintacker that she’s ordered an additional 50.  If you want one (or two or three or whatever), they will be here in approximately five weeks.  First come, first served.  Here’s the form:

Tintacker Redux Signup Form

Todd Becker, Deadmanpipes CPG.

Nate Lynn CPG.

Dennis Richards CPG.  Thanks very much to all involved in this project.  I have been looking for something like this for years with no luck now I have one.

Gary Hamilton CPG:  “Guinness Stout–Murray’s Tobacco–Peterson Pipes: I’d pretty much say I’ve got the “Irish Trinity” going here!”

Austin Quinlan CPG.